Chapter 33

"Um, I like Yui, so please go out with me."

When he said that, Yui started to rub her mouth as if trying to hide it with her hand. I thought it might be some kind of signal, but of course, we hadn't decided on any. Eventually, she turned away and curled up, so I left her alone and pressed Rina.

"Well, something like that... So, I have a girlfriend now. Rina, you should make some friends too."

"Y-You can't just say 'girlfriend' and mean anything..."

"No, a girlfriend is a girlfriend, right?"

"That's why... Ah! Right! It's not just anything. It has to be a complete package of heart, technique, and body. So, Rina will test you now."

Rina said, "Come here," to Yuki, and then walked out of the living room alone. It seemed she found it difficult to talk to Yui directly.

"Hmm, sounds interesting..."

While Yuki was bewildered, Yui, who had somehow become unusually cheerful, followed Rina with a light step. As they followed, they arrived at Rina's room. Rina opened the door wide and pointed inside,

"First, the heart. That is, purity without any cloud... So, please clean this room."

"This is your room, right? You're just trying to get me to clean it for you."

I couldn't understand why this was about the heart. Rina's room, which I hadn't entered for a while, was cluttered with balled-up tissues, snack wrappers, and crumbs scattered on the carpet, with manga books and magazines strewn about. To put it bluntly, it was dirty.

"How about it? A bit difficult, isn't it?"

Rina showed off her messy room with a smug look. However, Yui looked around the room without much surprise and said casually,

"Well, compared to my sister's room, this is cute."

"Really?"

"Isn't it? Just clean it up, right?"

While Yuki and Rina were taken aback, Yui stepped into the room and started tidying up briskly. She quickly filled a large plastic bag with trash, and her movements were so efficient, it was as if she did this regularly. She swept the floor, then started to organize the larger items, saying, "I'll vacuum after I tidy up the big stuff," and soon gathered the trash, stacked the magazines, and picked up the comics that had fallen by the table.

"Oh, 'The Quintuplet Sisters'... Is this Rina's?"

"Um... yeah."

"I'm reading this too! A new volume came out!"

That was indeed the one Rina had bought when they went out yesterday. She had said it was her current favorite and talked about it enthusiastically, but Yuki, who hadn't read it, had just nodded along.

As soon as Rina found someone to talk to, she started, "That thing over there... That person..." and couldn't stop. Yui, who claimed to be a big sister, joined in, saying, "Yeah, I get it!"

Seeing how much fun they were having, Yuki couldn't help but ask,

"What's the story about?"

"Well, when I woke up, my sister had multiplied into five! I'm still in the middle, but it's interesting."

"Isn't that a bit far-fetched? If it were real, she'd definitely die from overwork."

"Who are you looking at!"

Rina pushed Yuki's shoulder.

"Yuki, you should read it properly before complaining!"

Saying that, Rina took a book from the shelf and pushed it towards Yuki.

"Wow, that's great. Can I read it too?"

"Rina will read it with you!"

Rina said, and the two of them sat on a cushion and started reading the manga together. Yuki, told to start from the first volume, also opened the manga and joined them. Before they knew it, they had forgotten about the cleaning and were engrossed in reading the manga together.

"Let's move on to the next test... After the heart, it's technique. Of course, that means... cooking!"

After finishing the new volume, Rina, as if remembering something, said this and led everyone back to the living room. Enjoying the manga... that is, the heart. So, apparently the heart part was over. Incidentally, Yui and Rina had read the manga together and seemed to have gotten along surprisingly well. They could now look at each other and talk a little.

"Over here, over here!"

Rina beckoned them to the kitchen. On the kitchen counter, there was a bowl of rice that had been thawed from a frozen container, and a bowl and some eggs nearby, creating a mysterious situation.

"What's this?"

"I was thinking of making an omelet rice for Yuki."

"Another omelet rice?"

"The last one was a bit of a failure."

She had made him eat it without saying anything, but it was indeed a bit of a failure. Rina said she had prepared the ingredients and urged Yui to start.

"So, I just have to make the omelet rice?"

"Hmm... It might be a bit difficult for Yui?"

"I don't think it's that hard..."

Saying that, Yui stood in the kitchen and looked around at the stove, frying pan, and other cooking utensils.

"Your kitchen is a bit different from mine."

"Excuses are unnecessary."

Rina said this quietly, and Yui smiled slightly, looking quite confident.

"Can I use anything from the fridge?"

"Sure, go ahead."

Rina momentarily looked surprised, as if wondering what else Yui might use, but then put on a deliberately stern expression. She stood behind Yui, but when told to sit and wait, she obediently took a seat at the table.

Soon, the frying pan started sizzling, and a fragrant aroma filled the air. Yuki, sitting next to Rina, who had started playing with her phone, watched Yui's skilled movements. She handled the knife and pan with such agility that it was quite different from the Yui he usually saw at school.

(Maybe she's used to being bossed around...)

As he thought this, a plate with a well-shaped omelet rice, topped with a heart drawn in ketchup, was slowly placed on the table.

"Rina is picky about cooking."

Rina licked her lips and examined the omelet rice from various angles. She was really picky.

"Here you go."

Yui, standing beside her, smiled and offered it. Rina scooped up a bit of the edge with a spoon, sniffed it, and then quickly put it in her mouth. After chewing for a moment,

"Ugh..."

She covered her mouth as if to say something. After swallowing slowly,

"...It's okay."

"You almost screamed 'delicious,' didn't you?"

Yuki, pretending to be clueless, took the spoon from Rina and put it in his mouth. The omelet rice was different from the one Rina had made the other day, which was just rice with ketchup. This one had finely chopped onions and sliced sausages mixed in. The egg was fluffy on the outside and creamy on the inside, almost perfect.

"Amazing, it's so good... I didn't expect such a difference."

As he couldn't help but exclaim, Yui, standing nearby, puffed out her chest.

"Well, I do it all the time..."

Her slight hesitation in rephrasing caught his attention, but her cooking skills were undoubtedly excellent, as evidenced by the lunchbox she had made before. Rina, who had taken the spoon back from Yuki, was shoveling the omelet rice into her mouth with enthusiasm.

"I didn't know Yui was specialized in omelet rice..."

"Actually, Rina, remember the cookies you ate the other day? Yui made those."

"What? Why didn't you say that earlier!"

Rina, tapping Yuki's shoulder, jumped off her chair and bowed deeply to Yui.

"Thank you for the delicious meal."

"Really? I'm glad."

"I can't forget that taste."

Saying that, Rina suddenly got close to Yui. It seemed she wanted Yui to make more.

"Well, I don't have the ingredients right now... Maybe next time."

"Next time... Oh! Yeah! YEAH!!!"

Rina, having secured a promise, raised her fist and jumped. This meant she had to recognize Yui.

"Rina, are you satisfied now?"

"That's a different matter."

"Are you going to keep this up?"

Surprisingly persistent, Rina, who had suddenly put some distance between herself and Yui, pointed at her and said,

"Finally, the body. As the name suggests... I will do a body check!"